Learning to teach with information technology: Preservice teachers' perspectives and experiences across their three-semester preparation

Gao, Ping Syracuse University 2005 해외박사(DDOD)

As new teachers are expected to close the gap of technology availability and teachers' capabilities for using information technology to improve student learning, preservice teachers' learning to teach with information technology has attracted great attention in the teacher education community. A majority of studies assesses preservice teachers' technology competency and/or the change of individual attitudes as a result of taking technology-specific courses. Few studies focus on preservice teachers' technology field experiences either before or during student teaching. No studies explicitly investigate their perspectives and experiences throughout their teacher preparation experience. Little is known about the influence of information technology on preservice students' professional development (Bartlett, 2002; Linnell, 2000; Mullen, 2001). This study spanned three consecutive semesters---two semesters before student teaching and one semester of student teaching---exploring an on-going and active learning process through which the preservice teachers make sense, construct and reconstruct their understanding about the pedagogical use of information technology in their field placements. It also investigated the influence of information technology on their professional growth. This study was primarily informed via qualitative methods to investigate a cohort of preservice teachers' perspectives and experiences in an undergraduate teacher preparation program at Syracuse University. Interviews, observations and document data were collected from and analyzed on 10 purposefully selected participants. Surveys were conducted on more than 30 participants to select the focus participants as well as to supplement the qualitative findings. The study indicated that learning to teach with information technology is an idiosyncratic and developmental process situated in multiple individual and social contexts. The use of information technology helped the preservice teachers upgrade their content knowing, and develop the meaning of inclusive education, a sense of teacher identity, collegiality and leadership potential. In some cases, technology experiences changed their views of teaching and their own perceptions of themselves as teachers. A model that consists of five developmental levels of learning to teach with information technology was identified. This study points to the evolution of technology pedagogical content knowing. It shed new light on infusing information technology in teacher preparation and suggested implications of preparing technology-competent future teachers.

Conditions facilitating utilization of instructional technology in higher education: A study of Universiti Putra Malaysia, Malaysia

Hj Nawawi, Mokhtar B. Dato' Syracuse University 2005 해외박사(DDOD)

Despite the benefits of technology use in instruction, in general it has not been widely accepted within institutions of higher education. Previous studies have indicated that its use by faculty members in higher education has been generally minimal. What conditions will facilitate the utilization of instructional technologies in these institutions? Ely suggested eight conditions identified as facilitating the utilization of instructional technology in various education-related settings: (1) Dissatisfaction with the status quo, (2) Knowledge and skills exist, (3) Availability of resources, (4) Availability of time, (5) Rewards and incentives exist for participants, (6) Participation expected and encourage, (7) Commitment by those involved, and (8) Leadership is evident. This dissertation study attempted to determine the presence or non-presence of the conditions in a university setting in Malaysia. In addition, the study identified the nature and extent of use of certain instructional technologies and the reasons faculty members did or did not use them. The main vehicle for data collection was a survey questionnaire completed by 327 faculty members from various academic disciplines. The presence of the conditions was computed from responses to over 40 items used as indicators of the eight conditions. Using descriptive and inferential statistical methods of analysis, major findings indicated that the most frequently used technologies by faculty members were audiovisual technologies and word processing, while the least used technologies were the newer technologies such as computer conferencing, distance learning and multimedia technologies. The main reasons for not using a particular technology included the lack of facilities and resources, lack of knowledge and skills and inadequate time to learn and use technology. Certain faculty background characteristics such as age and gender were associated with frequency of use of certain technologies. The results indicated that in general only four of Ely's eight conditions were present in the university. However, the degree of presence of the conditions varied. The conditions are: (1) Dissatisfaction with the status quo, (2) Commitment by those involved, (3) Knowledge and skills exist, and (4) Leadership is evident. The conditions that were not present are: (1) Rewards and incentives exist for participants, (2) Participation was expected and encouraged, and (3) Availability of time. However, on the basis of participants' responses, the presence of the condition "availability of resources" was uncertain. In addition, perceptions on the degree of presence or non-presence of Ely's conditions between frequent users and non-users of certain technologies tended to differ from one technology to another.

Diversity matters: An analysis of the many meanings of multiculturalism

Gupta, Nisha Syracuse University 2005 해외박사(DDOD)

This dissertation examines the discourses of diversity and multiculturalism in a critical ethnography, informed by philosophical thought. The title, "Diversity Matters," intentionally plays on the double meaning of "matters," examining the ways that diversity matters to the liberal democratic polity, and also the material effects of the discourses around "diversity." These are the "matters of diversity." This research project explores the interplay between and among these different meanings through critical ethnography. I argue that there is a mainstream articulation of multiculturalism and diversity, which may be categorized as pluralism. My research combines an analysis of two major arguments of multiculturalism with a critical ethnography of one university's meanings of diversity to interrogate the dominance of this mainstream formulation of diversity and multiculturalism. My philosophical analysis of multiculturalism includes an examination of the liberal democratic view and the critical differences view. These two views of multiculturalism address different questions and formulate different responses. Analysis of these arguments demonstrates that they define and address social justice very differently, leading to two distinct agendas of diversity. The critical ethnography research site is a large private research university in the Northeast that overtly expresses that diversity matters. A multi-sited study of the institution included interviews with administrators, analysis of institutional documents and small grants program focused on diversity, and participant observation of a course on diversity. This dissertation describes the multiple meanings of diversity as well as the ways that informants talk about diversity. At the university studied, diversity has many meanings, including: diversity as a problem, celebration of difference, and asking critical questions about difference. The research of this study indicates that diversity is engaged in multiple ways. However, there are certain discourses that dominate, thereby restricting the ability for alternate discourses to take hold. The work of these alternate projects remains unfinished. Social justice projects drawing on both of the views of multiculturalism analyzed are among these unfinished diversity matters. I argue that by publicly naming their commitments to moral and civic purpose of the university, universities can shape the discourse toward these alternate projects of social justice.

"It's the Resources": Work, Governance, and the Institutionalization of an Emergency Food Network

Crist, Stephanie Syracuse University 2011 해외박사(DDOD)

Thousands of loosely connected organizations such as food pantries and soup kitchens constitute the emergency food network. Organizations in this network provide a critical source of food to millions of households each year. This dissertation examines how organizations in one city-level emergency food network acquire, manage, and use resources. It pays particular attention to the relationships that develop between organizations and funding sources. Utilizing institutional ethnography, this dissertation explicates the ways that everyday food provision in food pantries and soup kitchens is connected to a broader picture of changing modes of governance in the public and nonprofit sectors. The data were collected in Syracuse, New York, primarily using in-depth interviewing. Thirty interviews were conducted with staff and volunteers at food pantries and soup kitchens and fourteen interviews were conducted with staff of agencies connected to food pantries and soup kitchens through funding relationships. The emergency food network arose primarily to address gaps created by structural inequality and the inadequate government social safety net in the United States. Despite the enormous amount of labor that is dedicated to operating organizations within the emergency food network, this dissertation further supports other scholars' critiques of the network as inadequate. The context in which the majority of the organizations in the network operate is a religious context; many of the volunteers in the network are committed to emergency food provision because of their religious beliefs. This religious context has implications for ground-level services as well as the overall institutionalization of the network. The government provides a significant amount of support for the emergency food network, particularly in New York State. New York State's Hunger Prevention and Nutrition Assistance Program provides a relatively stable source of funding for Syracuse's food pantries and soup kitchens. This support has helped to institutionalize the local network and bolster the relationship between the regional food bank, which administers the state funding, and its eligible member programs. Even with a relatively stable funding environment, however, workers in food pantries and soup kitchens have been forced to develop limiting mechanisms to help manage their finite resources. These limiting mechanisms restrict the ability of the network to function as an adequate, charitably-based safety net. This dissertation also suggests that activities in the local network in which this study took place are becoming increasingly coordinated due to funding relationships, particularly with the regional food bank. Most of the approximately 70 food pantries and soup kitchens in Syracuse are "member programs" of the regional food bank, and as such, they agree to participate in a complex, but hierarchical relationship whereby the food bank guides, coordinates, and monitors much of the activity happening on the ground. While much of this coordination that has sought to improve local services, this complex network is still failing to serve as an adequate response to hunger and food insecurity.

Transnational nongovernmental organizations: A US perspective*

Mitchell, George E Syracuse University 2011 해외박사(DDOD)

This study examines how leaders of transnational NGOs (TNGOs) across the United States understand transnational activism and the roles their organizations play in world affairs. Three roles are identified: alleviation, realization and environmentalism. Analysis suggests that scholarship in international relations focuses disproportionately on the least common and least resourceful types of TNGOs and routinely mischaracterizes a small number of highly visible organizations as exemplary. Leaders' perspectives on organizational mission, activities, autonomy, collaboration, effectiveness and obstacles reveal that the most numerous and resourceful TNGOs are technocratic agencies favoring a materialistic, ameliorative approach to transnational activism. Moreover, to the extent that TNGOs exercise ideational power to achieve sociopolitical change, this power more closely resembles technocratic managerialism than overt political contention. Insights are derived from a mixed-method analysis of over 200 hours of in-depth interviews with top leaders from a diverse sample of 152 TNGOs registered in the United States. *This research was supported by National Science Foundation Grant No. SES-0527679 (Agents of Change: Transnational NGOs as Agents of Change: Toward Understanding Their Governance, Leadership, and Effectiveness) and the Transnational NGO Initiative at the Moynihan Institute of Global Affairs at Syracuse University.

Factors affecting knowledge sharing in virtual learning teams (VLTs) in distance education

Topchyan, Ruzanna Syracuse University 2013 해외박사(DDOD)

This study asserts that knowledge sharing (a component of knowledge management) in distance education virtual learning teams (VLTs) is important for successful collaborative learning and that various factors characterizing person and environment can impact VLT members' knowledge sharing behavior. Factors under the category of <italic>person</italic> are VLT members' competencies for working on VLTs, and their learning goal orientation and performance goal orientation. Factors under <italic>VLT environment</italic> are social presence in the VLT, the VLT learning community, satisfaction with the VLT, task type, and instructor strategies. Knowledge sharing is defined as a behavior in which VLT members impart their expertise, insight, or understanding to other members in the VLT or to the entire team, intending for the recipients to have that knowledge in common with themselves, the sharers. The study used Bandura's (1986) model of triadic reciprocal causation as a theoretical framework. The model is suitable for this research because it considers relationships between person, environment, and behavior. First, the study identified variables that are directly related to knowledge sharing. Next, the study validated those constructs. After the constructs had been validated, they were entered into a knowledge sharing measurement model. The study empirically tested a measurement model with five latent variables, taking into account the measurement error. Next, the study cross-validated the model with multiple groups drawn from the same sample. The sample consisted of data from 1,374 participants matriculated in graduate and undergraduate programs at an online university. The data were analyzed using split sample methodology, multiple regression analysis, and structural equation modeling techniques (factor analysis and latent variable structural equation modeling- SEM). The study's findings suggest that there is a direct predictive relationship between knowledge sharing and competencies for working on VLTs, learning environment, social presence, task type, and mediating relationships for learning community, social presence, and task type in the knowledge sharing model. This study contributes to research, theory, and practice. It concludes by presenting a knowledge sharing model that can be reevaluated with distance education student populations at various kinds of distance education institutions.

An examination of the relationship between attachment style and body image in adolescent girls: A focus on the mother-daughter relationship

Bex, Jaclyn M Syracuse University 2014 해외박사(DDOD)

Using Bowlby's attachment theory and a family systems perspective, this study explored the relationships between attachment between mother and daughters, daughter's body image, and the daughter's perception of what her mother thinks of her body. It was hypothesized that secure attachment would correlate with satisfied body image in the daughters and the belief that their mother's had a satisfied image of the daughter's body. Participants were female undergraduate students recruited from a private university. Participants completed self-report questionnaires about attachment (Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment, IPPA), body image (Contour Drawing Rating Scale, CDRS), and a researcher created demographic questionnaire. The IPPA and CDRS had two versions, one asking participants to answer based on their current age and the other asking them to report about when they were 11 years old. Attachment was negatively correlated to the daughter's perception of what her mother thinks of her body both at participants' current age and at age 11. Daughter's body image was positively correlated to the daughter's perception of what her mother thinks of her body again both at current age and age 11. A secure attachment between mothers and daughters was related to the daughter believing her mother has a positive image of her body. This in turn was related to the daughter having a positive image of her own body as well. Attachment and body image accounted for 25% during pre-adolescence and 22% during adolescence of the variance is what the daughter thinks her mother thinks of the daughter's body. Further research is needed to expand on the development of body image during pre-adolescence and its connection to attachment and familial relationships.

Experiencing citizenship in a globalizing world: The impact of off-campus programs

Williams, Ryan Owen Syracuse University 2013 해외박사(DDOD)

College serves as a critical time in the lives of young adults in the formulation of their identification with citizenship, of their sense of belonging or affiliation. In an era of increasing globalization, this psychological dimension of citizenship requires further research and elaboration. This project seeks to determine if and how the academic and off-campus choices students make in college impact their worldview, their loyalties and sense of responsibility toward others. How far do students' allegiances extend and what experiences in college help to create these bonds and commitments? This study asks whether international experience via study abroad is a necessary ingredient for students to begin to re-imagine the boundaries of their social communities and their responsibilities as global citizens, or whether these processes can occur through more locally or nationally-oriented service learning, volunteer, or internship experiences. This project combines several strands of scholarship including <italic> cosmopolitanism</italic> (particularly its more contemporary, relational extrapolations and usefulness to understanding the underpinnings of citizen responsibility today) and <italic>political socialization</italic> (focusing on the expansion of one's in-group and the formation of multiple loyalties), viewed through the lens of the <italic>Millennial Generation.</italic> The study involves a detailed survey of undergraduate upperclassmen enrolled at Syracuse University's Maxwell School and provides a model for cosmopolitan learning.

Assessing the quantified impact of a hybrid POGIL methodology on student averages in a forensic science survey course

Meeks, Tyna L Syracuse University 2015 해외박사(DDOD)

A causal-comparative/quasi experimental study examined the effect of incorporating a hybrid teaching methodology that blended lecture with Process Oriented Guided Inquiry Lessons (POGILs) on the overall academic achievement of a diverse student body in a large lecture setting. Additional considerations included student gender, ethnicity, declared major (STEM or non-STEM), and SAT scores. An evaluation of the effect that these characteristics had on student achievement due to differentiating import placed on the use of POGILs as a learning tool was included. This study used data obtained from a longitudinal examination of eight years of student data from an introductory forensic science survey course offered in a R1 northeastern university. This study addressed the effectiveness of applying a proscribed active learning methodology, one proposed effective in collegiate education, to a new environment, forensic science. The methodology employed combined fourteen POGILs, created specifically for the chosen course, with didactic lecture during the entire semester of a forensic science survey course. This quasi-experimental design used the manipulation of the independent variable, the use of a hybrid lecture instead of exclusive use of traditional didactic lectures, on the students' academic achievement on exams given during the course. Participants in this study (N=1436) were undergraduate students enrolled in the single semester introductory science course. A longitudinal study that incorporated eight years of data was completed, 4 years pre-intervention (2007-2010) and 4 years post-intervention (2011-2014). The forensic science survey course, taught by only one professor during the eight-year period, was a science discipline that had yet to integrate an active learning educational model. Findings indicate four variables significantly contributed to explaining nearly 28% of the variation seen in the student class averages earned during the eight-year period: the intervention, gender, STEM majors, and SAT scores. On average, the intervention significantly altered exam scores, F (1, 1431) = 43.019, p < 0.000, R2 = 0.029, raising exam averages 3.1%. Within the population, females outperformed their male counterparts by 1.9%, although both genders were significantly affected by the intervention, F (1, 1431) = 13.698, p < 0.000, R2 = 0.009. Students with declared majors in the STEM fields outperformed the non-STEM fields by 5.6%, a strong factor in the model, F (1, 1431) = 91.918, p < 0.000, R2 = 0.060, with both STEM and non-STEM students being positively affected by the intervention. The SAT scores, however, showed the strongest effect, F (1, 1431) = 345.026, p < 0.000, R2 = 0.179, where an increase of 3.1% in the student class averages could be seen for every 100 points earned on the SATs. Further discussions include implications and correlations to recent research and directions for future research.

What price Hollywood? Producing and consuming cultural myth and cinematic landscape in Los Angeles (California)

Stenger, Josh Alan Syracuse University 2001 해외박사(DDOD)

For almost a century, motion picture production in the US has been concentrated in or near Los Angeles. The imagery, cultural fictions and social values produced by the film industry are commonly organized around the polysemous cultural signifier ‘Hollywood.’ Moreover, these images, fictions and values are frequently translated into L.A.'s landscape, where they become part of a circular, self-reproducing process of representation and reification that binds the city to the cinema in southern California. As its title indicates, <italic>What Price Hollywood? Producing and Consuming Cultural Myth and Cinematic Landscape in Los Angeles</italic> is centrally concerned with assessing the costs—cultural-historical, material and ideological—associated with Hollywood film's impact on L.A.'s public image and built environment. It begins from the premise that Hollywood film has created not only a cultural mythology for Los Angeles, but a landscape where that mythology is regularly enacted, inscribed and consumed. This landscape also reveals how popular films and entertainment sites variously construct, contain, negotiate and disavow ‘othered’ spaces and subjectivities. For every L.A. space or story Hollywood film glamorizes or helps materialize, countless others endure a two-pronged attack of systematic under-investment in the community, and either unrelenting marginalization or outright erasure on the screen. Situated at the intersection of film studies, cultural studies and urban studies, and drawing on a range of texts—films from the 1920s through the 1990s, film shorts, tourist brochures, television and local news outlets, local exhibition practices, city development plans and architectural records—the dissertation investigates the influence of film production and consumption on race relations, urban planning and redevelopment, the built environment and architectural style in Los Angeles. In order to map these processes, separate chapters are organized around key historical moments when the collusion between the film industry and the city assumed a specific spatial dimension: the formation and thematization of Hollywood Boulevard during the industry's “Golden Age,” the recuperation of Downtown and concomitant reconstruction of L.A.'s city-myth by classic <italic>film noir</italic>, and the translation of these two intertwining cinematic histories into the city's postmodern consumer and entertainment landscape, notably, Universal's CityWalk and the Hollywood Redevelopment Project.